November 18, 2008

This weekend, I took my camera and two lenses to Ritz Camera to see what could be done about my problem of “no auto focus” on either of my zoom lenses. It must be the camera. So I thought I had better get them in the shop so that maybe I would get them out by the holidays.

Ritz Camera because it’s the only major camera shop I know of in the area and when I say area that means it is about an hour and fifteen minutes away. The only lens that I have working now is the one I bought at Ritz Camera and purchased extended warranty. I think that the extended warranty works more based on karma than actual guarantee.

Advice to take or leave: If you are serious about your passion for photography, buy your camera and equipment from a real live camera store. Duh

Anyway, the store was busy but I didn’t have to wait long before a rep came to help. I showed him the two lenses with that didn’t auto focus and the camera. He tried out a couple of things. Tried the lenses on another camera body, no focus. Tried my camera body with new lenses, it focused. While he was at it he cleaned the sensor. Very cool. But when it came down to diagnosing the problem and the he technical term that he came back with was: "They’re broke”.

While the camera is not to blame, the motors in the lenses are broke. And because I bought cheap glass, it would cost me more to pay the flat rate to have them fixed than just go buy another one.

Advice to take or leave: Buy the best glass you can afford.

My best bet is going to be to send them off to Nikon and see what they say. The rep said it was very unusual for the same problem to hit the same person twice. Yeah, OK that and lighting.

I went to the Nikon website and printed out a packing slip to be shipped with the lenses. I hope I will be able to report good things about this soon. Mean while I am trapped in a creative box of using only my one lens, the 50 mm.

November 01, 2008

I can hear your sighs now, how in the world can she write a 50,000 word novel in one month when she doesn’t even post to her blog once a month.

I’m starting over, (again). Clean slate. I am going to forgive my self so I hope the great spirit on the internet forgives me too. :)

This is my definition of my goal : I will write a 50,000 word novel this month, November 2008.

What has put this crazy idea into her head you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked.

See there’s this lady. She lives across the “Big Pond” from me with her husband and her cute little daughter. She comes up with the most amazing ideas and when she is on to something she doesn’t let go. Along her way she shares her experiences in a most inspirational way. You just can’t help but get caught up in her enthusiasm for her work.

Maybe you know her, Michelle at Scrapability, her scrapbooking blog. Well, now she has a writing blog “Juiced on Writing”. Love that title by the way. Through this blog she has inspired me to experiment and take a couple of online courses in writing, social networking and mind mapping. Now to explain how all of those got into one sentence, it would take us off on another journey I hope to post about soon. Back to NaNoWriMo. Focus…….focus…….

Michelle has posted a series of posts tracking her preparation for the month of November and to start her off on her novel. They include Mind Maps which are very detailed in the process of fleshing out your novel.

I have been in love with Mind Maps for about 10 years now so I just can’t stay away now that she is using them. Have you seen her mind map on Creating a Digital Scrapbook Album. A must see. Very visual.

I will be using the Mind Manager Program to help organize my novel like Michelle. She has also written about concepts of mind mapping and listed other free mind mapping options if you would like to give it a try.

Progressing right along, she is now v-logging. She is always on the cutting edge. So with that and some other things, I am looking forward to reaching my goal.

And here on the first day, it is Digital Scrapbooking Day. So many things to check out and download, a true digital overload.

September 29, 2008

At the beginning of this year, Ali Edwards posted about selecting a single word for the year. My word was "Output". For all of the web surfing, buying programs, buying online courses, buying digital kits, reading blogs, writing blog posts, buying books and magazines, I had nothing to hold in my hands and show others (that were not as geeky as me) what all my time and money had been spent for. Well last night, a chance to use some of what I have learned came to pass.

My daughter is a senior this year and as parents of said senior we are expected to buy a page in the yearbook and dedicate the page to the said senior with pictures, well wishes and congratulations for making the grade to graduation.

(Yearbooks are not like they used to be anymore. I am scared to think what they will be like when my son gets to be a senior. I personally like the way we used to have yearbooks, but hey that's another story - blog post).

The senior page was due today. So last night I foraged through pictures of 17 something years to come up with a page proving my child had parents that took pictures from the time that they were born till now. Thanks to "Library of Memories", the class I have run through three years now at Big Picture, they were fairly in order.

Now, according to their directions you were to pick a diagram, pick the same number of pictures to fill the boxes, number the back of the picture and then write the picture's number in the boxes it was intended and enclose a check in the provided envelope with your "Dear Senior, we are so proud of you" letter to be printed on the same page.

I picked a whole page layout from the packet of Xeroxed copies of diagrams (they looked much like what we digital scrapbookers call templates) and chose to stick with a classic "Black and White" page. I chose pictures from the time she was a baby to the present and focused on a theme, her smile. (Design 101 from all of the graphic web designer blogs I read and study......."KISS"........Keep It Simple Stupid). Then I converted all of the pictures to Black and White using Lightroom Presets from Andie at Pink Ink Studios. Then I created my own PSD template using clipping masks to arrange and resize my photos according to the diagram. (thank you's going to all of the people who write tutorials and share their knowledge). With all of the people who influenced the design and creation of my daughters senior page, via the web, videos, DVDs, and books you would be most certain that it would not need "customization"

My daughter turned in the page in the next morning and they charged her extra for "customization". What?! They told her that they may have to take the page apart and "reconstruct" it. That word makes me shutter and not with a camera. In last years Yearbook, I saw that some of the pictures that parents sent in where way distorted and I know it had to be because of "reconstruction".

Now we wait until the end of the school year and pray that there was no need to "reconstruct". In the end, hopefully, there will be a page of photographs,......... published,................... in a book,........... accessible without a computer that she can touch and share. Photographs and a layout that I am pretty sure she will be proud of................I think. (you know how finicky seniors are)LOL

July 02, 2008

2. How to use the exposure compensation button on my Nikon D80 - With the presets you must also use the camera settings prescribed while shooting pictures you will use the presets on. This forced me to pull out the old Manual on the D80 and actually use it.

3. How to put links in your comments on Flickr - After using the presets and processing them in Lightroom, I wanted to make sure I gave credit to my source creativeness. Hating all of the ugly long link stuff forced me to figure out how to make Hyperlinks nice and tidy. Here's the formula:

<a herf="THE HTTP LINK HERE">THE WORDS YOU WANT TO SHOW HERE</a>

I know that this HTTP mark up in it's simplest form but if you don't use it you lose it. When posting using Typepad and Windows Live Writer, they have an "Insert Hyperlink" button and you forget how to do the HTTP markup thingy.

Following Heather's lead I just had to take a picture of my soda can and try out the presets.

I came home after work and found these guys in the pond. They were having to much fun. I didn't even put up the groceries first, I just grabbed my camera took pictures. Sometimes I do my best when I don't think about it to much. More pictures at Flickr.

May 12, 2008

*I rented a fast 17-55mm lens from BorrowLenses.com. This is a dream service when your not sure on a lens and your lottery ticket hasn't come in yet. I am planning on a trip and needed a lens that would take in a lot of landscape but also let me take pictures in tight rooms.

So far it's working great. The only thing wrong now is that my kids are not being cooperative in the picture department so I am forced to follow the ducks again. As long as I carry a pocket full of corn, me and the ducks get along. The lens is also giving a sort of fisheye view of things without to much distortion.

(used Andie's RoadTrip Presets for Lightroom from PinkInkStudios.net)

Today I got some great pictures of the son riding horses with his friends. But some where between the dining room and the stairs, the pictures slid right off of the SD card before I could get it to the computer. I know they were there, I saw them in the LCD screen on the back of the camera.

But this is the second time this has happened that I have noticed. The first time it really hurt to lose those files. What did I do wrong so I can learn this lessons and not have this catch me again?

Anyway, for the trip, I got a Tracy Joy Camera Bag. It is wonderful with all the pockets on the inside.

This one is the Kristine in brown with the BOHO print. I think I'm going to have to go back and get the Owl print.

May 01, 2008

My Dear Daughter took my truck yesterday to town to pick up some groceries.

Dear Daughter left for school on the bus this morning and forgot my keys were still in her purse.

The boss wasn't over joyed with "No Keys, can't crank truck" excuse, but I had everything I needed to work on my laptop.

So, I got to work at home today and I had lunch with the ducks.

Here they come single file:

After coming out of the pond, they stretch:

Then they groom themselves, talk about yoga positions:

We have two duck cliques in our pond. This younger group that allowed me to eat lunch at their table is bullied by a smaller clique of three older ducks. The head mallard duck always chases them around the pond.

He always separates and picks on the smallest one. I am waiting for the big white duck in the younger group to grow up and stomp on his head uh, put him in his place.